Pilot – Damp & Mould

What the project is

Damp can cause mould, which produces allergens, irritants and even toxic substances. Damp and mould can be difficult problem to track and resolve. It can take up lots of time and is frustrating for all of us. Our damp and mould project is using smart environmental sensors which have been installed in 80 properties. The aim is to identify the early onset of problems such as damp and mould, plus to offer advice on how to reduce or stop the problem.

Why we’re doing it

This project is helping us identify potential issues by monitoring and reporting on the atmospheric conditions within the properties. Instant alerts to potential issues go straight to the tenants enabling them to reduce or even stop the problem. Useful information is shared on the Resident App on how to maintain homes at a healthy condition.

Benefits to tenants

This technology allows tenants to monitor the condition of their homes and is providing actionable insights on how to reduce the risk of issues such as damp and mould. It is empowering tenants to take corrective action i.e. opening windows when the humidity is too high, which is helping to prevent further problems leading to less intervention from Ongo. All this is improving the quality of their home, health and wellbeing. It’s also helping reduce carbon usage through unnecessary visits as we’re able to triage potential issues utilising our Virtual Assistance software.

About the technology, company and how it’ll work

HomeLINK is a multi-award-winning high-tech software team within Aico that leverages cutting edge home integration and analytics technologies to address the needs of us as a landlord and our tenants. Smart environmental sensors are monitoring atmospheric conditions in each room giving a holistic insight into each property. This information and analytics help to identify and alert potential issues.

Resident App is also providing useful information of how to maintain homes at a healthy condition. Click this link to watch a video which provides more detail about HomeLINK.

How homes have been selected

After different options were considered, we have selected properties based on an intelligence-based approach on properties prone to damp & mould.

How we’ll monitor, use data and upscale

We have started data triaging end of August 2023 and have been able to identify numerous new damp and mould cases as a result. When triaging damp and mould risks we also look at other alerts to ensure we are looking at the property as a whole with a holistic view. Our tenants are successfully using the app, one tenant who has been using the app for over a year has said “since using the app, I’ve learnt what to do in certain situations and data helps to make sure that my actions make a difference, it’s reassuring that I’m doing the right thing”.